Iga Swiatek didn't struggle against Madison Keys in previous matches, and she didn't do it this time around at the 2024 Madrid Open, either.
The Polish player has been playing superb tennis all week in Madrid, and she's back in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament. She first made the final last year, which was a hugely impressive run for her, but she didn't end up with the trophy.
You could feel the special juice she brought this year, almost as if she came with the intent of winning the event as revenge for last year's loss.
So far, so good because her semi-final performance was certainly one for the books, and now she only needs to win one more match. Keys has never been a tough matchup for the Pole because the American is a strong player, and that's the ideal matchup for the Polish player.
She wins that one nine times out of ten, and that's some pretty good odds. The doubt in this match was removed fairly early into the match, as she quickly jumped out to a lead and then cruised to the finish line, winning the opening set 6-1.
It took her only 31 minutes to win that opening set, and it was all about the baseline. Keys wasn't terrible, though. This wasn't one of her bad outings; she just wasn't sharp enough.
This is a common problem for many of Swiatek's opponents because she's just that good. The second set didn't really offer anything different.
Another early break by Swiatek seemingly sealed the deal, but Keys looked a bit more decisive on her serve. She had found a bit of a rhythm by now and looked decent, but the damage was already done.
She couldn't really exert too much pressure on Swiatek, who was just too good. The final score was 6-1, 6-3 for the Polish player, who is back in the final. If Aryna Sabalenka beats Elena Rybakina in the other semi-final, we'll get a repeat of last year's final.
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